Organising grassroots initiatives for a more inclusive governance: constructing the city from below
With ever increasing numbers of people moving to urban areas, the world is facing increasing pressure on both ecological and human environments. Most of this growth is occurring in unplanned and underserved settlements in low- and middle-income countries. As the authors say, the resources and approaches needed to incorporate people and citizen-led initiatives into a…
Recentralisation? Interrogating the state of local democracy, good governance and development in Tanzania
This report investigates the extent to which Tanzanian Local Government Reform Programme has brought about more democratic decision-making processes. The main findings point to several positive changes. Good governance reforms, aiming to restructure central and local governments, have been undertaken and implemented. Parliament and the councils have been strengthened, as well as civil society organisations…
Global talk – Local walk, SDG#5 on Gender Equality
The aim of this study is to understand the processes of implementing Sustainable Development Goal 5 on Gender Equality into policies and practices at the municipal level in Bosnia-Herzegovina (BiH). Our research answers the following research questions: 1) What supportive policy frameworks exist at the federal, entity, canton and municipal level in BiH to support…
Child influence in local governments
This policy brief is based on the key lessons derived from a case study investigating how local governments can create conditions for child influence in decision making processes. The study was conducted by Christopher Owambla and Cornel Ogutu in 2019 who looked at municipal partnerships i three countries: Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It is hoped…
Engagement of people with functional variation in the urban planning processes in Russia and Sweden
The inclusion of all people in local political and urban planning decision-making is one of the foundations of local democracy. This briefing paper examines a simple transferable methodology for assessing the usability of our city spaces for persons with functional variation. The focus is on the everyday experiences as people use the city in their…
Community Currencies as means of Local Economic Empowerment
Community currencies have emerged as a tool for building more inclusive local economic development and governance. Grassroots organisations in Nairobi and Mombasa (Kenya) have been experimenting with this form of local monies. Communities in informal settlements in Kisumu have shown interest in introducing their own community currency. Challenges remain concerning the best diffusion strategy of…
Local participation in natural resource management initiatives
Local participation in natural resource management initiatives: A case study of the Gola REDD+ project in Sierra Leone The United Nation’s programme, Reducing Emission from Deforestation and forest Degradation (REDD+) is an international policy mechanism to mitigate global climate change. REDD+ has a significant global impact that is changing how forests are managed around the…
Handbook for Municipal Partnerships
This handbook is for anyone interested in, or currently working with theMunicipal Partnership Programme (in Sweden and partnership countries).It provides guidance for planning a new project using the Logical FrameworkApproach (LFA) and is tailored for actors in municipal partnerships. It alsoprovides support for a few of the challenges that a partnership may encounter.
Burning the woods and flooding the slums
Burning the woods and flooding the slums: examining the socio-economic and environmental burden of wood charcoal in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania Wood charcoal is the main source of energy for cooking in urban Sub-Saharan Africa. It is widely known that charcoal production causes numerous environmental impacts, such as deforestation and environmental degradation. Interventions aimed at…
Participation of women with disabilities in local government decision making structures
Participation of women with disabilities in local government decision making structures: Unpacking the Silent Voice. A qualitative study conducted in Lusaka, Zambia Participation of each and every person in governance system is a fundamental human right and a basic condition for democratic tenets in society regardless of their physical and socio-economic status in society. Persons…